Hands off pays off

In 1989 three day-care centres were threatened with legal action by Disney

Very Important Babies, Good Godmother and Temple Messianique in Florida received the news on the same day


Their crime… murals. 


Each of the day-cares had life sized paintings of Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse or Goofy on their walls

Disney were right, it was trademark infringement

So under threat of a fine each of the day-centres painted over the murals
That’s when Universal studios got involved

They offered to replace the Disney murals with pictures of their own characters 


Soon the day-care centres had life-sized Flintstones on their walls.

This differing approach to policing trademark and licensing has characterised Universal and Disney ever since

In late 2019 the release of the Mandalorian saw Baby Yoda take the internet by storm

Months later Disney were again sending out cease and desist letters 


This time to Etsy sellers who were selling ‘Baby Yoda like’ dolls 


Again this is Disney’s right and they have built one hell of a business ferociously guarding what they create


But it is in stark contrast to the Universal approach to the Minions


Since their first incarnation in Despicable Me the Minions have felt like public domain 
They’ve been co-opted by the internet and businesses alike


They are everywhere

When’s the last time you went a week without seeing a Minion? 


Universal aren’t just relaxed about their trademark but also their copyright

In the lead up to the latest Minions film

Clips and snippets of Minions were created, edited, doctored & shared without restriction across Tik Tok and Instagram

This was the fuel that created the fire of the #GentleMinions trend

Thousands of young men around the world going to the cinema in suits for the film

A bizarre enough sight to gain mainstream news attention

And keep Minions. The Rise of Gru in the headlines and public consciousness for weeks

Clearly Universal saw this minor infringement for what it was


Free marketing

Minions. The Rise Of Gru went on to have the biggest July 4th weekend of any film in history


Grossing $202 million globally in four days

Obviously Disney know what they’re doing

But it’s interesting to see the less controlling hands-off approach of Universal pay off too

When seen as people participating rather than profiteering it’s clear that it can be hugely additive